Don't Leave
by Ognonamis
Summary: After a freak accident, Cloud is left injured and pretty much immobile with only one person to care for him. After, strange things begin to happen and the events that led to Cloud's accident just dont add up. Cloud/Tifa. Please read and review. Chap 7 up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

_Okay, this is my first Final Fantasy fanfiction story so take it easy on me...hehe! I have had a new found obsession with Final Fantasy which stemmed form a movie night I had when my niece came over to spend the weekend. She wanted to see Final Fantasy VII Advent Children so bad so I rented it. After that, I went and bought the movie and I have watched it so much since then. So here is the first chapter of my story. I hope that none of the characters seem out of character. If they do, I apologize. I have only played a little bit of the original Final Fantasy VII game and seen the movie. Anything other then that, I have had to read on the internet. Also, this story takes place after the events of Advent Children. Not too long though. Maybe a few months. In my story, Barret is still drilling for oil. It's a different oil field though. Also, there are a few things that I have changed so bear with me, It will be explained eventually._

_Special thanks to my niece for getting me back interested in Final Fantasy and to my friend Danniele who gave me tons of awesome ideas._

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

That being said...enjoy!

**VII VII VII VII VII **

Chapter 1

There was no way of knowing how things would turn out after his second battle against Sephiroth. Cloud thought that there would be another battle waiting around the corner because it seemed to be the only kind of luck he seemed to have.

On the contrary. Things had calmed down quite a bit after his confrontation with Sephiroth. Berret went back to the oil fields on his mission to find an alternative to mako energy. Not only that, but Rufus Shinra decided to go and help Berret in an effort to help fix the problem that he and Shinra created in the first place.

Cloud on the other hand, took up his place at Tifa's Seventh Heaven and resumed his duties as a delivery boy. Things were pretty much back to normal at Seventh Heaven. He, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel pretty much went back to their normal lives.

_Normal...I wonder how long that will last_. Cloud thought as he sped through the barren land on his bike. _Nothing is every normal. Even if it seems like things are normal, there is always something that comes along and screws everything up._

Suddenly, two loud bangs tore Cloud from his thoughts and sent hin into high alert. Before Cloud could even comprehend that both of his dual front tires had blown out at the same time, the fender dug into the dirt catapulting Cloud away from the bike.

Cloud knew things were bad when both tires blew out but at that point, it was too late. A matter of seconds later, Cloud was sent crashing to the ground. The instant he hit the ground, the force knocked the wind out of him but the tumble across the dirt after proved to be much more painful as eh managed to collide with at least three rocks that were protruding from the barren landscape. Laying there on his belly, he struggled to catch his breath when suddenly he felt extreme pressure on his left ankle. The pressure didn't last long though. Within seconds, the pressure released sending pain shooting up his left leg.

Cloud moaned in pain as he realized what happened. The bike had rolled up onto his ankle. Still trying to catch his breath, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He didn't feel so good. He could feel the energy draining from his body and his limbs developing an unsettling jelly feeling.

His scraped up hands shook with concentration as eh struggled to open his phone. Things were bad. He knew he hit his head at least once as he tumbled across the dirt and it was becoming increasingly painful to breath.

"Glad I programmed the speed dial." Cloud said to himself in a low and weak voice. His vision began to blur as he reached for the number pad with his thumb. He pressed his thumb firmly down on the number pad not knowing who it would dial. His vision began to blur again as he reached his thumb up to hit the send button. Just seconds after hitting the send button, darkness surrounded his vision and everything went black.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Hey Tifa...Where is Cloud?" Marlene asked as she ran up to the bar. "I wanna show him this picture I drew for him."

Tifa leaned on the bar and looked down at Marlene with a smirk on her face. "He had to make a delivery." Marlene's smile disappeared almost instantly. "He should be back soon so you can show it to him when he gets back." The smile re-appeared on the little girl's face and she ran off clutching the drawing firmly in her hand.

Tifa couldn't help but smile. Just knowing that Marlene and Denzel had a good life under her care reassured her that she was doing things right. Her and Cloud both were. She was about to grab a cloth to wipe down the bar when the phone rang. Tifa sighed and walked to the other end to the bar and grabbed the phone..

"Cloud, this better not be you making another excuse." Tifa said to the ringing phone thinking that it was Cloud on the other end.

She clicked the talk button on the receiver and put it up to her ear. "Seventh Heaven, this is Tifa." When she heard the voice on the other end, it wasn't who she thought it would be at all. It was Berret. And from the tone of his voice, it sounded like something bad happened. She weren't sure but she was hoping that it didnt have something to do with the oil fields where he had been working.

After listening to Barret explain things over the phone for what seemed like an eternity, she finally got the chance to say something. "Berret...I'll talk to you more when you get here." A few seconds after, she clicked the off button on the phone and set it down on the bar.

The smile that she wore on her face before the phone rang disappeared. After what Berret told her, she couldnt help but worry. He told her about getting a call from Cloud but when he answered, there was no response on the other end. He told her that when he found Cloud, he was unconscious with the bike on top of his leg. Tifa knew that there must have been some freak circumstance to cause him to wipe out that bad. As much as she had seen him drive his bike, she had an understanding that he was probably as good at driving as he was at fighting.

Tifa sighed and walked over to the front door of the building. Things were definitely going to be hectic the rest of the day and the thought of trying to help cloud and run the bar at the same time just seemed crazy. She flipped the open sign over so that it read closed and made her way to the stairs.

She had to explain things at least a little bit to Marlene and Denzel before Berret brought Cloud back. She needed to make sure that they knew that Cloud was going to need time to rest so that he could heal. When she got the top of the stairs, she could see Marlene and Denzel sitting at the desk that Cloud had set up for his delivery service.

"Tifa." Marlene joyfully said as she turned around in her seat to face her.

"Marlene...Denzel...I need to talk to you about something very important." She said receiving a questioning look from Denzel and a frown from Marlene. This was gonna be harder than she originally thought.

"Cloud isnt leaving again...is he?" Denzel asked immediately. The memories of the past when Cloud left were still fresh in his mind.

"No." Tifa said as she walked over to the desk where both of the kids were sitting. She knelt down and continued. "He's coming back today but he's gonna need some time alone."

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Just like Tifa had suspected, the rest of the day was hectic. Barret explained more about when he found Cloud but when she actually saw Cloud, she was shocked. His arms and hands were covered with cuts and scrapes and he had a small cut on the side of his forehead. Semi-dried blood surrounding the cut made his hair stick to his forehead. It was painful for her to see Cloud the way that he looked. So cut up...so helpless. She wished that she could help him but all she could really do was be there and help him through the healing process. The healing process...that was going to be rough for all of them, especially for Cloud.

"Tifa...is Cloud gonna be okay?" Marlene asked in a quiet voice as she walked into Cloud's room where Tifa was.

"Marlene...Cloud will be fine." Tifa said trying to reassure the little girl. It didn't work though. Marlene's expression remained the same. Tifa looked down at Cloud who was still unconscious in the bed beside her. "He's strong...he'll pull through this." She turned back to Marlene. "Just give him some time...okay?"

Marlene nodded but didn't change the expression on her face. "Can you give this to him when he wakes up?" Marlene asked as she held a folded piece of paper up for Tifa to see.

"Of course I will." Tifa said with a small smile on her face. She took the folded piece of paper from Marlene and set it on the bedside table. "Okay...now go play...I'll let you know when he wakes up." Marlene smiled, turned around, and ran out of the room.

Tifa turned her attention back to Cloud. _I wish you would wake up_ she thought as she grabbed a washcloth out of a small bowl of warm water that was sitting on the bedside table. After ringing it out, she began to dab Cloud's forehead where it had been cut. The cut wasn't particularly large but who knew how bad the internal damage was.

A soft moan instantly stopped Tifa. When she pulled her hand back to put the washcloth back in the bowl, she was met with big blue eyes. "Tifa?" His voice was quiet and weak but it was music to her ears.

"It's about time you woke up." Tifa said in a gentle tone. She wanted to smile and jump for joy at the sound of his voice but she decided to stay calm. It was so good to hear his voice and see his beautiful blue eyes again. "We were worried about you."

Cloud looked like he was about to say something when he squinted his eyes shut tight. He moaned in pain and reached up to grab his head.

"You must've hit your head pretty hard." Tifa explained. "You've been out for hours." Cloud took his hand off his head and dropped it back on the bed.

"How did I...how did I get here?" Cloud asked in the same week voice as before. He squinted his eyes shut again as his head continued to throb without mercy.

"Barret found you and brought you back." Tifa said in a soft voice. She knew that Cloud must've gotten a big headache from what happened. "He said that he got a call from your phone but there was no answer when he picked up. After that...I guess he decided to come here and ask you about it but on his way, he found you laying on the ground unconcious."

"My bike." Cloud said as he turned his head to look at Tifa and was rewarded with more throbbing. He squinted his eyes in pain for a second. "I crashed my bike."

"I know." Tifa stated with a quick nod. "When Barret found you, your bike was on top of your leg. The weight of it broke your ankle. That's why it's all wrapped up."

Suddenly a loud sound from outside the room caught Tifa's attention. "Denzel...come on. Wait up for me!" Tifa sighed and got up. She had to keep Marlene and Denzel quiet so that Cloud's headache would not get worse.

"Marlene." Tifa called as she stepped out into the hallway. Marlene, who was chasing Denzel, stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Tifa. "Try to be a little more quieter. You don't want to disturb Cloud do you?"

Marlene shook her head. "No...sorry Tifa." Tifa smiled and gave her a nod letting her that she accepted her apology. Marlene smiled back and then ran off in search of Denzel.

Having accomplished what she set out to do, she turned her attention back to her injured friend. When she turned to walk back into the room, she couldn't believe her eyes. Cloud was no longer laying down on the bed. Instead, he was sitting up with his legs draped over the edge of the bed.

"Cloud...you shouldn't be up. You should be resting." Tifa said as she started to walk back towards the bed.

Cloud could hear the concern in Tifa's voice. He knew that what she said was true. After having that bad of a crash on his motorcycle, rest was the best choice but he didn't like the idea of laying around. Being unconscious for so long was enough laying around for one day. "I've rested enough."

Tifa walked over and grabbed the crutches that were leaning against the wall. "I figured you would say that." She said as she walked over to the bed and handed the crutches to him. "Reno will be over later with an update on their progress at the oil fields. When he gets here, I'll see if I can get him and Rude to bring your bed down to the room I had added behind the bar. That way, you won't have to go up and down the stairs with those crutches." Cloud was about to protest but decided it would be better to just agree this time. After all, she was right. The only thing that was upstairs was his room. If he wanted something to eat or drink or if he had to use the bathroom, he always had to go downstairs.

"Okay." Cloud said with a small nod.

"You gonna be okay going down the stairs with those?" She asked with a concerned look on her face as she pointed at the crutches he was holding onto.

"I'll be fine." Cloud answered.

Tifa nodded and gave his a smirk. "Okay." She walked over to the door. She looked like she was about to walk out the door when she turned back. "I'll see you downstairs." Without another word, she walked out the door leaving Cloud alone in his room.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there is chapter one. I hope it is okay. Please review. I would love to know what everyone thinks where this is my first Final Fantasy fanfic. To explain things, the room behind the bar is something that I changed. In this story, Tifa had it added on. I will try to explain it a little more in later chapters._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

_The first thing I want to do is thank Soldier de Veritas and isacotti for the reviews for the first chapter. I really appreciate it. It helps keep me writing. _

_Okay, so here is chapter 2. This chapter is a little longer than the last so I hope that it is okay. Cloud isnt out of the water yet. More things are in store for him. Also, there is a little comic relief that I added in this chapter. I hope people figure it out. Well, without further ado, here is chapter 2. Please read and review. I really love getting reviews._

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Chapter 2

By the time Reno and Rude showed up to give them an update, Cloud was downstairs. After Tifa made sure that Cloud was situated and at least partially comfortable, she went outside to talk to Reno and Rude.

"So, how are things been going out at the oil fields?" Tifa asked as she leaned up against the outside wall of her bar. "Anymore progress?"

"Oh yeah." Reno said. "Just found another spot to drill so everything is great." He looked over at Rude who simply nodded. "So...Barret had to leave earlier...something to do with Cloud. What the hell was that about?"

"You mean Barret never told you the whole story?" Tifa asked and was rewarded with a blank stare from both of the men. She sighed and looked at them. "Cloud crashed his bike today."

Rude snapped his attention to Tifa and Reno raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Really?" It was the only thing that Reno could think to say. The question was...how was it possible. Cloud could drive almost as good as he could fight. "How did he..."

"We don't know how it happened." She paused for a second. "Barret told me that he got a call from Cloud's phone but when he answered, there was nobody on the other line. He said that he decided to come here to see what the call was about when he found Cloud unconscious with the bike on top of his leg."

"Oh." Reno said. Reno looked at Rude and then back to Tifa. An awkward silence enveloped the group, none of them knowing quite what to say until Tifa broke the silence.

"I was wondering if I could ask you two a favor before you leave." Reno just stared at her waiting for her to continue. "Could you help me brink Cloud's bed downstairs so that it can be moved into the room behind the bar.

Reno gave her a puzzled look. "Why?"

"He has a broken ankle and I think that climbing up and down the stairs with crutches would just be too much." Tifa explained being rewarded with an understanding expression from both Reno and Rude. Reno looked at Rude who just nodded.

"Sure...why not." Reno said as he and Rude started for the door.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Tifa." Cloud spat as he flinched away. Reno and Rude decided to bring the bed down without Tifa so she decided to finish cleaning the cut on Cloud's forehead.

"Would you hold still?" Tifa said in frustration as she reached for his forehead again. This time, the cloth didnt make it though. Before the cloth could reach his forehead, he grabbed her wrist.

"Cloud...I'm almost done." She said looking down at his big blue eyes. "After that...I'll leave you alone."

Cloud looked at her pleading brown eyes. How could he say no? Besides, she said she would leave him alone after. That was more than enough reason to let her continue. "Fine." He said as his group slowly released from Tifa's wrist.

"Hey." Reno said as he and Rude set the bed frame down at the bade of the stairs. Cloud and Tifa both turned their heads to focus their attention on Reno. Reno looked at Cloud's wrapped up ankle that was propped up on a chair a few feet in front of him. "You could always _run_ over here and help us."

Cloud almost instantly looked away. He had a feeling that Reno would come up with some way to piss him off. Tifa glared at Reno. "Okay." Reno said holding his hands out in front of him as if it was going to keep her away. "I guess not." Tifa kept her eyes on Reno until he and Rude went back to what they were _supposed_ to be doing.

"Leave it to Reno to come up with some smart ass comment to say." Tifa said before turning her attention back to Cloud.

"It doesn't surprise me any." Cloud said in a slightly depressed tone. Tifa could tell by his initial reaction to the comment and by his tone that what Reno said bothered him. Getting him to admit it though would be impossible. She wished that she could make him feel better both physically and emotionally but there wasn't anything she could really do.

Tifa continued to clean the cut on Cloud's forehead in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence though. After being around Cloud so much, it seemed like second nature for everything to be silent. "Oh crap...I almost forgot."

Cloud had a puzzled look on his face as he turned his head to look up at Tifa who had stopped everything she was doing instantly. Tifa smiled and sighed. "Marlene made something for you and I promised her that I would give it to you when you woke up." She paused for a second noticing the expression on Cloud's face lighten. "I'll be right back." Without another word, she set off towards Cloud's room.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Hey...Cloud." Tifa said as she gently nudged his shoulder. He looked up at her with a somewhat sad look on his face. "You okay?" Tifa's words were laced with concern.

"...Yeah." Cloud answered with a bit of a blank expression on his face. "Just thinking." Tifa only nodded at that statement. Cloud was always thinking. That was the main reason why he was so quiet. That and he just didn't want to talk about stuff. If he only knew how much emotions escaped him simply by the look in his eyes. His eyes, whenever she looked into his eyes, she could see nothing but raw emotion. Such an emotion was something that cloud would take to the grave though. "Tifa." Cloud said snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh...here." She said holding a folded piece of paper out to him.

Cloud took the folded piece of paper from Tifa's hand and opened it up. A gentle smile appeared on Cloud's face. Tifa couldn't believe it. He was smiling. He was actually smiling. What could Marlene have possibly drawn to finally get Cloud to smile for once. When Tifa walked over to look at the picture, she let a small giggle escape her lips. Marlene had drawn a picture of Cloud holding her and Denzel up in the air, on in each hand, like a super hero.

"Well...we're gonna get going now." Reno said suddenly appearing in the doorway behind the bar. Reno looked at Cloud and his bandaged left ankle. "I'd love to stay and chat more but I've got errands to you know..._run_."

"Reno!" Tifa snapped as she glared at him.

"Okay, okay." Reno said. "Don't _jump_ down my throat." He and Rude walked to the door. "We'll be back tomorrow if anything happens. You know, if we get more oil drills up and ah..._running_."

"Goodbye Reno." Tifa said in a friendly voice despite how pissed off she was. Emphasizing words like run and jump would only upset Cloud where he was on crutches and she was trying to keep him in a good mood. Reno gave them a quick wave, opened the door, and walked out with Rude close behind.

Tifa stood there for a few minutes thinking about how to get back at Reno for being such a jerk. When she finally turned around, Cloud was using his crutches, trying to get up.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet." Tifa said as she put a hand on his shoulder. When Cloud turned back to her, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. He closed his eyes for a second, sighed, and sat back down in the chair making sure to put his leg back up on the chair where it had previously been resting.

"You know..." Tifa started as she resumed her previous job of cleaning the cut on his forehead. "Marlene and Denzel probably have hundreds of drawings like that. All they do all morning is sit and draw. You probably would have seen them before but you always start your deliveries early." Cloud didn't say anything. He just sat there and stared at the wall. "You should see it...it's like their morning ritual. After breakfast, they always sit at your desk and draw for a couple hours."

Suddenly, it was as if a cold hand gripped his heart. He always made his deliveries early so that he could have the rest of the day to do what he wanted. He always missed out on everything that happened at home. He wished that he could see some of the things that Tifa did. He wished that he could spend more time with Marlene and Denzel. "I've missed out on some stuff." Cloud said in a voice so quiet, she almost didn't hear it.

"Well." Tifa said as he put the washcloth back in the bowl. "You're gonna be stuck here for a while so you'll be able to make up for lost time."

Cloud winced. "Ahh." What was she doing to him? He pulled his head away. It didn't do any good though. Her hand never left his forehead. She gave the band aid she just put on it another firm rub making Cloud wince again.

"There." She said as she pulled her hand back. "All done." Cloud reached up and touched his forehead. It was a band aid. That's what she was doing. Either way, it still hurt and it gave his fading headache a VIP pass back into his body. It didn't really matter though. She cared for him plain and simple and he knew it too. He was thankful to have such a wonderful friend.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

The rest of the night was pretty quiet like Tifa had expected. It only took about a half hour to get Marlene and Denzel to sleep. Well, about a half hour after about a million questions about what happened to cloud.

When Tifa got back downstairs, Cloud was nowhere to be found. She quickly began scanning the room. Where could he have gone? It wasn't like he was the most mobile person in the world. His crutches kind of prevented that.

"Cloud." Tifa called out as she began to scan the room. "Cloud...where are you?" She was about to panic when she finally spotted him. He was in the room behind the bar. Tifa took a deep breath and let herself relax a little. He was sound asleep, getting the rest that he needed.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_How could this happen? Cloud thought as he stared at the still body of his close friend. How could this be happening? What am I gonna do now? Cloud could feel his heart ache as he slowly dragged himself to his feet using the giant buster sword as leverage for a second. "Goodnight." He turned around and was about to walk away but stopped. "Zack." He finished and slowly walked away._

"_Cloud...wake up." Cloud looked around. Who said that? He didn't see anything or anyone. He ignored the voice and his thoughts and continued walking, dragging the heavy buster sword. "Come on Cloud...wake up." There was that voice again. It was so familiar. Suddenly, a stabbing pain in his side that sent him tumbling to his knees. He grabbed his side in pain as he gasped for air. What was going on? Where was the pain coming from._

"_Cloud..." There was that voice again. Who was it? Where was it coming from?_

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Marlene...breakfast is ready." Tifa called out as she walked towards the stairs. She didn't get an answer which worried her a little. "Marlene?" She called out again.

"Tifa..." Tifa turned towards the bar. It was Marlene. She was in with Cloud. No wonder she couldn't find her.

"Marlene." Tifa said as she started walking towards the bar. Marlene was probably trying to wake Cloud up so that he could eat breakfast with the rest of them. If Marlene was in there trying wake him up, odds were that he was awake. Cloud had always been a light sleeper. "Marlene...what are you doing?" She finally got to the room where Marlene and Cloud were. She could see the worried look on Marlene's face. "What's wrong?"

Marlene frowned and looked down at the floor. "Cloud wont wake up." She looked up at Tifa with a sad look on her face. She was worried about Cloud and Tifa could tell.

"Don't worry about Cloud. He'll be okay." Tifa said with as mile on her face. "Breakfast is on the table. Better go heat before it gets cold." She continued, referring to the eggs and bacon that she had made for all of them. Marlene gave her a nod and walked out of the room to go and eat her breakfast.

Tifa sighed and walked over to the bed where Cloud was sleeping. Cloud was usually the first person up. He was usually up and off making deliveries before anyone else was even up. It wasn't like him to sleep in even when he wasn't feeling well.

"Cloud..." She said as she put a hand on his arm. "Come on Cloud...wake up." She gently wiggled his arm but instantly regretted it when she did.

Cloud squinted his eyes tight and moaned in pain. Tifa pulled her hand away instantly. He grabbed his side with one of his hands and moaned again.

"Cloud?" Tifa said as she watched him struggle with the pain.

Cloud opened his eyes. "I'm awake." He said in a weak voice. Something was wrong. It wasn't just him not waking up either. He looked pale and his skin looked clammy.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked with a concerned look on her face. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." Cloud said as he sat up. Tifa's expression didnt chance at all. She didn't believe him. Cloud could tell she didn't believe him but he didn't want her to worry about him anymore. "Tifa...I'm fine." He repeated as he swung his legs out over the edge of the bed.

Tifa sighed. "Okay." She knew she wouldn't be able to get him to admit that he didn't feel good so she decided to give it up. She grabbed his crutches and stood them up in front of him. "Breakfast is waiting." He took the crutches from her and nodded. Without another word, she walked out so that she could eat her own breakfast.

**VII VII VII VII VII **

By the time Cloud made it out of the room, Marlene and Denzel had already finished their breakfast and ran off to go draw like they did the previous morning.

"I think your breakfast is cold." Tifa said as she wiped a plate off with a dishcloth. "You want me to warm it up before you eat it?"

Cloud sat down and looked at his plate for a second and then back up at Tifa. "No...It's fine." Honestly, the thought of eating turned his already queasy stomach. He didn't want to worry her and he didn't want to waste food. He picked up his fork and took a bite of his eggs. After he chewed it up and swallowed it, he sat there for a second to make sure that it would stay down. After he was confident enough about eating, he ate more.

After about half of his plate was empty, Cloud stopped suddenly. "Cloud?" Tifa said with a questioning, yet worried look on her face. She had her hand resting on a basin that she got out when cloud first woke up. "Hey Cloud...are you okay?" There was no answer from him.

Cloud closed his eyes as he fought to keep his breakfast down. "Cloud..." She repeated as she walked towards him. He knew that she was worried but honestly, what could she say. "Cloud." Her voice sounded more and more worried by the minute. "What's wrong?" She asked as she put a gently hand on his shoulder.

Cloud took a deep breath. "Tifa, I'm..." Suddenly, his gag reflexes took over. Tifa gently gripped his arm keeping him sitting upright. Cloud was going to tell her that he was fine when his stomach churned viciously making him gag again. "I think I'm gonna be sick." Cloud admitted as he grabbed his stomach to try and soothe it. When he saw that Tifa had the basin in her other hand, he grabbed it.

Almost instantly after Cloud got the basin under his head, he heaved spewing the contents of his stomach into the bottom.

Tifa didnt say anything. She knew it wouldn't do any good. She simply knelt down and rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe his trembling body as he got sick. _I wish that I knew what was wrong with you so I could fix it._

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there is chapter 2. I hope I didn't make Reno OOC too much. I don't really know much about him besides what I saw in Advent Children. I also hope that I didn't get too graphic with the last scene and Cloud getting sick. My friend said that it was too graphic for her but I thought it turned out okay. Also, the whole dream thing isnt exactly to what it was in Crisis Core. It is changed mostly because Cloud is kind of dreaming and getting bits of Marlene trying to wake him up at the same time. The whole Cloud getting sick thing will be explained eventually._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

_So here is chapter 3. Thank you to everyone who reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. Just thought I would let you know that this is the only story that I have written that I can regularly update. It started off as a rough idea and now it seems to be a bit of an addiction to me. Hehe! Anyway, thanks again for the reviews so far and I hope that you like this chapter. Here is chapter 3. There is a little twist in the story. Hope you like it. Please read and review. Id love to hear what you think._

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Chapter 3

"Hey Barret...this is Tifa." Tifa said. She didn't know who else to call so she decided Barret was her best bet.

"Tifa...good to hear from you." Barret said in an upbeat voice. It was something that she wasn't used to. "How's Cloud doin'?"

Tifa hesitated for a minute. "Not very good."

"What do ya mean?" Barret asked in a confused tone. What the hell was she talking about? "What...did Cloud fall and break his other ankle or something?"

"No." Tifa sighed. "He's ah...he's actually sick."

"Sick?" Barret repeated almost not believing what he was hearing.

"Yeah. He woke up this morning like that." Tifa paused to see if Barret was going to respond or not. "He couldn't keep his breakfast down, he couldn't keep his lunch down, and I haven't even tried to get him to eat dinner yet."

"You sound pretty worried." Barret said.

"I am worried." Tifa truthfully said. "I haven't seen him this sick in a long time and I don't know how to help him." She honestly didn't. She wished that she could make it all go away.

"Just hang in there...whatever he has will pass eventually." Barret explained. "All you can really do is keep him comfortable until then."

"Yeah...I guess I..."

"Who are you talking to?" Tifa turned around quickly to see Cloud standing in the doorway, no crutches, with all his weight on his right leg.

"It's Barret." Tifa answered quickly. "Where are your crutches?" Cloud stood there for a second not answering her or doing anything.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Cloud thought as a wave of dizziness crashed into him. He put his hands on both sides of the door frame in an attempt to keep his balance. "Cloud..." Tifa said as she watched him struggle to stay standing. "Cloud, are you okay?"

Cloud just stood there. His body swayed for a moment. He really didn't feel good. He didn't want Tifa to worry about him but by the way things were going, it was an impossibility. Tifa dropped the phone and walked over to the doorway where Cloud was standing. He was about to stumble backwards when Tifa grabbed him by the shoulders. "Cloud...you shouldnt be up. You should be resting."

"Tifa...I'm..."

"Don't." Tifa started. "Don't tell me that you're okay because I know different."

"Okay." Cloud said understanding Tifa's point of view. "I just...I don't want you to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

Tifa sighed and let go of his shoulders. "I know...I know that you can take care of yourself. I just cant stand seeing you like this."

Cloud was about to say something but he couldn't think of a comeback to that. Was she really _that_ worried about him? He looked into her eyes trying to find an answer.

"Do you feel any better than you did earlier?" Tifa asked with hopeful eyes.

"I don't know." Cloud said. "Why?"

"I thought that maybe you might want to try eating dinner." Tifa said. She sighed. "But if you still feel to queasy to eat...it's okay."

Cloud looked down at the floor for a second and then back up at her. "No...I'll try dinner." He paused for a second. "Tifa...The phone." Tifa's shocked expression told him that she completely forgot.

Tifa walked over and picked the phone back up. "Sorry about that." She apologized to Barret who stayed on the phone while she ran off to help Cloud.

"Don't worry about it." Barret said with a chuckle. "Listen...I was planning on picking up Marlene for the weekend. Do you want me to pick up Danzel too so they wont catch whatever Cloud has?"

"Actually...that would be great." Tifa said with a smile on her face.

"Well, I'll let you go okay?" Barret said. "Sounds like you got your hands full. I'll see you in the morning when I pick up Marlene and Denzel."

"Okay." Tifa said and without another word, she hung up the phone. "Okay." Tifa said as she turned around ans started walking towards him. "You stay here and I'm gonna go get your crutches for you." Cloud put all his weight on his right foot and leaned towards the right so she could walk by.

As Tifa slid between him and the door frame, her hand caught him in the side. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his side so painful that he dropped to his knees. He grabbed his side and gasped for air as the pain pulsed through him.

"Cloud?" Tifa said as she turned around quickly in reaction to the thud sh heard. _Oh god...what did I do?_ Tifa thought as she quickly went to his side.

She knelt down and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He had his eyes squinted shut as the pain pulsed through this body making it hard to breath.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

It's fine." Cloud said in a quiet voice through gritted teeth. Tifa slowly got up and walked over to Cloud's bed. The crutches were leaning against the wall beside the bed. She grabbed the crutches and turned around to walk back over. By the time she got back to the door, Cloud seemed better. He wasn't gasping for air anymore and he had his eyes open.

"Here." She said as she held the crutches up in front of him. Cloud grabbed one of the crutches and using it for support, he slowly pulled himself up to a standing position. "Cloud...I..."

"Tifa...don't worry about it." Cloud said as he grabbed the other crutch out of her hands. "I said it's fine." He repeated as ge slowly made his way to the nearest table.

Cloud was relieved when he finally made it to the table and sat down. Tifa felt terrible about what happened. "Cloud...I..."

"Tifa." Cloud stopped her. "It's fine."

"Okay." Tifa said with an apologetic look on her face. There was a silence that hung in the air between them for a couple of minutes. "So." Tif started. "After I made Marlene and Denzel dinner, I had no idea what to make for you." Cloud looked up at her with questioning eyes. "So...I got thinking...Where you havent been feeling well, soup would probably be the best thing. Then I started thinking about when we were younger." She stopped talking and started walking towards him.

"It reminded me of how you are the only one besides me who likes this." She finished as she reached the table. She set a bowl down in front of him. He looked at the thick green liquid in his bowl and a tiny smirk appeared.

"Pea soup." Cloud said.

"I found the recipe about a week ago. It's from Nibelheim." Tifa said. "I've been planning to make it ever since I found it but I never got around to it. Now seemed like the perfect time.

Cloud took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of the soup. He closed his eyes. God...didn't the smell bring back memories from his childhood. She was right though. They seemed to be the only ones who liked pea soup. "I can't believe you remembered."

"How could I _not_ remember?" She said as she dished her own bowl out. She stopped for a minute and looked down at the basin that she put on the shelf underneath the bar. She was about to ask him if he wanted her to grab the basin but when she looked up at him, she decided it would be the best thing to have the basin with her. He had his eyes closed tight and was holding his stomach.

Cloud's expression didn't change at all as Tifa walked back to the table with her bowl of soup in one hand and the, now clean, basin in the other. She set her bowl down on the table and knelt down in front of him. "Cloud?"

Cloud slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. "I don't think that dinner wasn't such a good idea." He could his stomach churn as he glanced at the bowl. It was amazing how one spoonful could make him feel so sick again.

"Want me to put it in the fridge? Save it for later?" Tifa said. "You can eat it when you are feeling better."

Cloud nodded. "I think I'm gonna go lay down." He explained as he grabbed his crutches. Using both of the crutches and the table as leverage, he pulled himself up.

"Good...you'll probably feel a lot better after." Tifa said as she watched him make his way back to his new temporary room behind the bar.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"_Cloud, I don't know how much longer I can take this." Tifa spat as her fiery gaze fell on him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. He was in the bar. Did he black out? What the hell was going on? And was Tifa so angry with him? The last thing he could remember was going back to his room to lay down. His ankle was still wrapped up. Was he dreaming?_

"_What are you talking about?" Cloud said, shocked by her anger. _

"_I'm talking about everything Cloud." She yelled as she slammed a dish in the sink making it break into several pieces. "I'm talking about this self pity thing you have going all the time." She began walking towards him. "I'm talking about the constant silence when we're around each other." She continued until she was all but pointing in his face. "I'm talking about you being all depressed all the time." The gleam in her eyes scared him. It was like a primal anger coming out of her like he had never seen before._

"_But..."_

"_No Cloud...don't try to explain things because I am so sick of the way things have been going lately. I've been dealing with this for far too long and I'm done." She stormed past him. Once she got to the door, she turned back around. "Here." She threw her keys at him. They bounced off his chest and fell to the floor. "The bar's yours...I'm leaving."_

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud woke up suddenly, his heart pounding hard in his chest. Was that a dream? Did Tifa really leave? He rolled over onto his left side so that he wasn't facing the wall any more. When he saw his bedside table, his heart sank. It was her keys. So she really did leave. He closed his eyes as he fought to control his emotions.

"Oh...you're awake." Tifa's voice made Cloud snap out of it. He quickly opened his eyes to see Tifa knelt down beside his bed with a smile on her face. He gave her a confused expression.

"You left." Cloud said in a quiet voice. "You were angry."

"What?" Tifa was lost now. What the hell was he talking about? She wasn't angry with him and she wasn't gone for long. "Cloud...what are you talking about?"

"You threw your keys at me and left." He explained more.

"No I didn't." Her confused expression rivaled Cloud's. "I went to the store to get some stuff and when I came back, I came to see how you were doing and I forgot my keys." What was going through his head to make him think that she would get angry enough to just leave on angry terms.

Cloud just looked at her for a second. She could see the hurt and pain in his eyes as if he was an abandoned child. He sighed and rolled onto his back. "It was only a dream." He took a deep breath and rolled onto his other side. He could feel the sadness and anxiety slowly leave his body. He closed his eyes and felt sleep tugging at him.

Tifa grabbed her keys and stood up. "I wouldn't leave." She said in a quiet voice. "I...I loved you too much to do that to you." She added in a whisper thinking that cloud had already drifted off to sleep. She turned around and walked out leaving Cloud peacefully resting.

_Wait...What?_ Cloud thought as his eyes flung open. _What did she say?...Did she just say love?_ Suddenly, his heart started pounding again and a strange feeling flooded his body. "She love me?" Cloud quietly whispered to himself. He wasnt sure what to think. Why would she say that?

Even though his mind was swimming with questions, he actually felt good. After laying there for what seemed like an eternity, he finally drifted off to sleep.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

When Cloud awoke the next morning, all was quiet. He couldn't hear Tifa doing her usual daily chores. He couldn't hear the kids upstairs playing. Nothing at all.

For a minute, he almost thought that seeing her the night before and hearing what she said didnt even happen. He still couldn't believe what he heard. Yeah, they were close friends but he had no idea how she really felt. Or did she only mean that she loved him as a friend? He just didnt know.

He rolled over on his side and noticed a folded up piece of paper on his bedside table. He sighed and sat up letting both feet drape over the side of the bed. He could only guess that it had been from Marlene and Denzel. He grabbed the folded piece of paper and opened it up. When he saw the picture drawn inside, he couldn't help but smile.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Vincent...I didn't expect to see you today." Tifa said. "We don't normally see you around here much."

"There's something you should know Tifa." Vincent said as he leaned against the bar crossing his arms across his chest.

"Know about what?" Tifa asked with a puzzled look on her face. What was he talking about?

"Did cloud tell you anything about his bike accident?" Vincent asked.

"Just that he crashed it...why?" She answered still confused by the topic.

"When Barret found Cloud, he also got his bike and brought it back as well." He started. "Both front tires were blown out but what you need to know is that the tires didnt blow out on their own."

"Wait...are you saying that..."

"I'm saying that it wasn't an accident at all." Vincent interrupted. Tifa's eyes went wide. "Somebody did this."

"So what you're saying is that someone is trying to kill him?" Tifa asked still requiring clarification. "But...how do you know for sure?"

"These." He started as he held out his hand to reveal two sharp silver darts. "These were found still embedded in the tires." He dropped them into Tifa's hands.

"Who would want to do this?" Tifa asked in disbelief. "Why would someone wanna kill Cloud?"

"I don't know." Vincent said. "But whoever it was knew what they were doing. To be able to shoot out both tires at the speed that Cloud must've been traveling takes...skill."

"Does Barret know about this yet?" Tifa asked.

"He was one of the first to find out." Vincent answered. "I decided to tell you instead of Cloud because you are the one who knows him the best. You understand him better than anyone."

Tifa sighed. "I'm not sure how to tell him this though. He isn't exactly in the best state of mind as it is."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked, unaware of the dream that Cloud had the night before.

"I don't know...It's just the way he's been acting lately." Tifa sighed. "Like last night when I left for a few minutes, he got upset. Apparently he had a dream about me being angry with him and leaving."

Vincent nodded. He knew that Cloud had been through a lot since he left home when he was younger and he knew that having bad dreams and even nightmares weren't all that uncommon. But waking up and thinking that it was all real seemed a little strange.

"Okay...come on kids. Get in the truck so we can get going." Tifa and Vincent both turned to see Barret coming with Marlene on his shoulders and Denzel walking beside them. He put Marlene down and they both ran over to Tifa. Tifa knelt down and gave them both a big hug.

"I'll see you when you get back...okay?" Both kids nodded and then ran to the truck to get in. As the kids were getting into the truck, Barret walked over to Tifa.

He looked down at the two silver darts in her hand. "So Vincent told you...huh?" Tifa nodded. "Well...if you need me to take the kids longer, just give me a call." Tifa nodded again

After bidding them goodbye and watching them all get into the truck, she gave them a quick wave and then watched them walked drive off.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

When Cloud left the room behind the bar, the first thing that he noticed was that the place was empty. At first, he thought that maybe she actually did leave. The thought quickly disappeared when the door opened and Tifa appeared.

"Good morning." She said as she walked in, closing the door behind her. "Feeling any better?"

"I..." He stopped and put his hand on his stomach as it growled.

"Cloud?" She looked at him with concerned eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He answered as he let go of his stomach. "I'm just...I'm hungry...Is that soup still in the fridge?"

Tifa smiled. "Yup. I'll be right back." With that, she walked off.

When Tifa finally walked out with a hot bowl of pea soup, Cloud was sitting at one of the tables with his broken ankle propped up on a chair.

"It's not as good as it would be if it was fresh but it should still taste pretty good." Tifa said as she set the bowl down in front of him. She sat down as Cloud began to eat his soup in silence.

After Cloud was about half done with his soup, Tifa decided to break the silence. "Cloud...there's something that I wanna talk to you about."

Cloud stopped eating and looked up at her from his food. "Okay."

"How much do you remember about when you crashed your bike?" Tifa asked. The concerned look on her face alarmed him a bit.

"Only that both of the front tires blew out at the same time." Cloud said with a confused look on his face. "Why?"

"This morning when Barret came to pick up Marlene and Denzel, Vincent came with him." Cloud's confused expression remained unchanged. "He handed me these." Tifa continued and set the two silver darts on the table in front of him.

"What do these have to do with me crashing my bike?" He asked picking up one of the darts to examine it.

"They were embedded in the tires when Barret found you." Cloud took his eyes off the dart and looked up at her. "Who would want to do this?"

"Tifa...I've made a few enemies throughout the years." Cloud explained.

"Yeah but...have any of them expressed that they want you dead?" Tifa said. "I don't understand."

"Don't worry about it." Cloud said. "I'll handle it."

"How?" She asked slightly louder than usual. She wasn't angry but the look in Cloud's eyes told her that she sounded like she was. "How are you supposed to handle it when you can barely walk?" She continued in a much softer tone.

Cloud turned his gaze back down at the table. Tifa sighed. "Cloud...I'm not trying to upset you...I'm just worried."

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there you have it. Chapter 3. _

_To MyfinalfantasyVII, h.luna, Soldier de Veritas, Miss Murderess, MtReload, and my one anonymous reviewer "ik"...thank you soo much for the reviews. I really appreciate them and they help keep me writing knowing that someone is reading it._

_Soldier de Veritas...I'm glad that you loved the second chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint you with the third chapter. And I hope the little twist about Cloud's accident keeps you still wondering._

_I hope that twist keeps everyone wondering. That will unfold in later chapters. Just a forewarning though...the next chapter may not be quite as long. The chapter after that should be a lot longer though. _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

_I am so sorry about the wait. I didn't mean to take so long between updates. I was planning on posting this a few days ago but things came up and I was busy. Well, anyway, here is chapter 4. I am not sure if any of you will think I went the right direction with it but I think I did. _

_Oh...to answer the question from Soldier de Veritas, I have an idea of where the plot is going. Like the main events but I don't know what else is going to happen. I just don't want to bore anyone with this story. Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story and even the people who read it but didn't review. I really appreciate it. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 4._

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Chapter 4

The weekend seemed to drag on. It seemed like there was no end in sight. The mornings always started with a silent breakfast followed by Tifa's daily chores. Tifa's chores were always followed by awkward silence until lunch. After lunch, everything else pretty much went the same. Tifa always kept the bar open until one in the morning and then closed up. There werent any incidents to speak of. The news about his bike accident not being an accident kept him busy thinking all weekend.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

By the time Cloud woke up Monday morning, the sun was already out and high in the sky. "Morning!" An energetic voice dragged him out of his half asleep state. Marlene ran into the room and scooched down so that she was at eye level. "Glad to see you awake. Feeling any better?"

Cloud nodded and sat up. "Nice to see you too Marlene." He didnt sound very sincere but he really did mean what he said. He just didnt have the enthusiasm that she did.

"Did you get the picture that I left for you?" She asked. He nodded and pointed to the wall on the other side of the room. When Marlene saw the wall, her eyes lit up. "You hung them _all_?"

Cloud nodded. "Tifa cleaned my desk off and gave them to me. It gave me something to do when I was bored." Marlene got up and walked over to the wall and stared at it in awe.

"I didnt think we drew _that_ many." Marlene said. "I cant believe you hung them all."

"Marlene." Tifa called. Marlene ran to the door.

"Tifa...look what Cloud did." Marlene said with a smile before running back into the room.

Tifa sighed and walked towards the room. When she got to the doorway, she could see that Cloud was awake. She was about to say good morning to him when Marlene ran up to her. "Tifa...look at what Cloud did." She said as she pointed to the wall covered in drawings. A smile appeared on her face and she turned to look at Cloud.

"You hung them all up on the wall?" She asked with a skeptical look on her face.

Cloud nodded tiredly. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to make myself useful." He turned, swinging both of his legs over the edge of the bed. Tifa smiled at him. "What?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing." Tifa said. "I just didn't think that you'd hang them all. I figured that you would put them in a folder somewhere." Cloud just shrugged. "Why hang them all?"

"I don't know." Cloud said as he grabbed his crutches and pulled himself to a standing position.

Tifa turned to Marlene. "Hey Marlene, why don't you go and get Denzel so he can see." Marlene smiled and ran out of the room. After Marlene left the room, she turned back to Cloud. "Barret dropped them off a few hours ago. He also dropped your bike off. It's all fixed." Cloud nodded. Reno and Rude came in a different vehicle. They're still here. Reno said he wanted to ask you about something."

"Okay." Cloud said.

Tifa nodded. "I'll go tell him that you're awake and that you'll be right out." Cloud nodded and watched her walk out of the room.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud was met by three pairs of eyes when he walked out of the bar. Tifa, Rude, and Reno. Reno...last time he saw Reno, all he got was comments about him being on crutches. Well, they weren't really directed at him exactly but he would emphasize words like run and jump just to piss him off.

"Hey Cripples...'bout time woke up and _ran_ out here to join us." Reno said after seeing Cloud walk out of the bar. Tifa glared at him. How could he do that? Probably the reason was because he knew that Cloud wouldn't respond to it. She looked at Cloud by his expression wasn't what she thought it would be. He actually looked angry.

Cloud picked up one of his crutches with one hand and wound it at Reno as hard as he could. Not only did Cloud's reaction surprise Tifa, but it surprised Reno as well. He didn't see it coming. Within seconds, the crutch connected with Reno's face. The force of the impact sent Reno stumbling back grabbing his face.

After throwing the crutch at Reno, Cloud lost his balance and staggered back into the building. After hitting the building, he fell to the ground grabbing his ankle in pain.

"Cloud." Tifa said as she knelt down beside him. Cloud didn't answer. He just kept his eyes closed as the pain pulsed through his leg.

"God Damn! What the hell was that for?" Reno asked as he pulled his hand away from his face to reveal that he had a little but of blood coming out of his nose.

"Reno!" Tifa yelled.

"Okay...okay." Reno said. "I guess I deserved that one. He picked up the crutch and walked over to Tifa and handed it to her.

"Are you done?" Tifa asked with an angry expression on her face.

"Yeah yeah...I'm done." Reno said looking down at Cloud. "Listen Cloud. There's something that I wanna ask you about."

Cloud, now with open eyes, looked up at Reno with a not-so-friendly expression on his face. "What?"

"You know anyone named Rayne?" Cloud's eyes went wide at the mention of that name. "There's been talk about her and a group of Ex-Shinra guard causing trouble."

"She served in the Shinra Guard the same time I did." Cloud said as he slowly stood back up using the wall as leverage. "Why are you asking me about her?"

"Well...there's been talk that she's looking for you." Reno answered.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Me?...But I haven't seen her in years."

"Do you think that she had something to do with your accident?" Tifa asked giving Cloud a concerned look.

"Who knows." Cloud said.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Later on that day, things had gotten quite boring. Tifa had to go out and get supplies so she left Marelene and Denzel with Cloud. Before she left, she gave them both a lecture about being good because he had to stay still and keep his foot elevated. All of that pressure on his broken ankle made it swell up quite a bit.

"Cloud...when is Tifa getting back?" Marlene asked as she stood in front of him with pouty lips.

"I don't know." Cloud said. "She should be back soon. Go play." Marlene frowned, turned around and stomped off towards the stairs. Suddenly the door swung open making Marlene turn around quickly.

"Tifa!" Marlene cheered as she ran up to her almost knocking her over, and gave her a hug.

"Hi Marlene." Tifa said. Something different about the tone of her voice caught Cloud's attention. She seemed different like she was upset.

"Tifa...what happened to your arm?" Marlene asked. After hearing that, Cloud turned to see what she was talking about.

"It's just a scratch Marlene...don't worry about it." She gave Marlene a reassuring smile. "Okay...go play." Marlene nodded and ran off up the stairs.

After setting her bag down on the bar, she grabbed a piece of paper towel and pressed it against the small gash on her upper arm. "I swear...you can't even walk down the street anymore." She walked over and sat down next to Cloud.

"Tifa...what happened?" Cloud asked, his expression mirroring how her concerned look was when something ever happened to him.

Tifa sighed. "It's really not a big deal." She stood up, about to go put things away when she felt Cloud's hand on her arm, gently gripping it.

"Tifa...who did this?" Cloud said, his voice much louder than before.

"I don't know who they are but they were looking for you." Tifa explained. Cloud's expression instantly changed and his grip on her arm loosened. She gave him a small smile. "But don't worry...I didn't tell them anything."

Cloud looked down at the table. _This is because of me. She got hurt because of me._ Tifa looked at the clock. "I gotta get Marlene and Denzel to bed...If I don't, they'll be cranky in the morning." Without another word, she walked off up the stairs to Marlene and Denzel's room.

Cloud could hear Tifa reading Marlene and Denzel a bedtime story as he slowly made his way to the room behind the bar. _I need to get out of here. _Cloud thought as he gathered some of his things. _I don't wanna be the reason for anyone getting hurt. Especially not Tifa and the kids._

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Tifa had just got done reading the story and got Marlene and Denzel to sleep when she heard Cloud's bike roar to life.

"What the hell?" Tifa said in a whisper as she got up and walked over to the window. It was Cloud. He was on his bike and he was getting ready to leave. "No."

Tifa dashed down the stairs but when she opened the door, he was already gone. "Cloud!" She yelled but it did no good. She had a feeling why he left. He blamed himself for her getting attacked because the person was looking for him.

She sighed in frustration, turned around, and walked back into the bar. How could he just leave like that? After all the years they knew each other, she thought he would know her a little better. She would never blame him for something like this..

She was about to walk back upstairs to make sure that Cloud's bike didn't wake the kids up when she saw a small piece of paper sitting on the table where Cloud was previously sitting.

After she walked over to the table, she slowly sat down, picked up the piece of paper, and read it.

_Tifa,_

_I'm sorry but I have to leave. If I stay, I'll only put you_

_Marlene, and Denzel in danger. I can't let any of you,_

_get hurt because of me._

_-Cloud_

After Tifa finished reading the note, she crumpled it up and slammed it down on the table. "Cloud...how could you?"

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_There you have it. That's chapter 4. I hope it's okay. There is a reason why I wrote it the way that I did and you will find out when you read more. I already have the next chapter ready to post. _

_Again...sorry about the long wait between last post and this one. I will try to be quicker next time. I wouldn't want anyone to get bored and stop reading._

_Oh yeah...before I forget, I hoe nobody minds me adding an original character into the story. Not sure where that is going to lead yet and I don't know whether or not women are even allowed in the Shinra Guard but I figured, if they have women who are Turks, why not in the Shinra Guard. Anyway, we will see where that leads. I'm still wondering that myself. Please review. I would sooooo love that. Hehe!_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

_I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I actually have two chapters ready for update and I am working on the third. Also…I had so many ideas for other stories and I had to write them down too. Again…sorry for making you wait for so long to read this chapter. I hope I don't disappoint you with it. I have to warn you…it's kind of a sappy chapter but I think it fits quite well. And things for Cloud and Tifa will get better. You'll see. Enjoy the chapter._

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Chapter 5

Cloud knew from the moment he left that he wouldn't enjoy being away. Seventh Heaven was the only place that he could call home for a long time and Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel made life pleasant there. Tifa called him every day that he was gone. Each message usually said the same thing or something like it.

Cloud sighed and opened his phone. He pressed the voicemail button and put the phone up to his ear. He had six messages on his phone. The number had grown some since the last time he checked.

"_Hey Cloud…It's me." There was silence for a few seconds. Then he heard Tifa sigh. I know you've already heard messages like this but I'm gonna say it again. Please come home. We all miss you and its just not the same without you here."_

**BEEP! Next Message**

"_Hey Cloud." It was Tifa again. She didn't sound the same though. She sounded upset. "I…" She sighed and the message ended._

**BEEP! Next Message**

"_Hey…When are you coming home?" It was Tifa again. "It's been three weeks already. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened." She sighed and the message ended._

**BEEP! Next Message**

"_Hey…it's me again." It was Tifa. Not much of a surprise there. "Please Cloud…when are you gonna stop running and come home where you belong?" She sighed. "Give me a call sometime so we can at least talk."_

**BEEP! Next Message**

"_Dammit Cloud! Would you answer your phone for once?" There was a pause and then the message ended. He didn't want to make her angry or upset but it seemed like in every message, she seemed more and more upset._

**BEEP! Next Message**

_There was a pause. "Cloud?" This wasn't Tifa at all. It sounded like Marlene._

"_Marlene…what are you doing?" He could hear Denzel scolding her in the background._

"_I'm calling Cloud." She said. "He should be here with us." She was now yelling._

"_Shhh…you don't wanna wake Tifa." Suddenly the message ended. _Why would Marlene be calling? It was the end of his messages. He sat the phone down on the floor and layed down on his make-shift bed. Within minutes, he drifted off to sleep.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

It had been two days and no messages from Tifa or Marlene or anyone. He was worried. He had gotten a message everyday like clockwork and now nothing at all.

Suddenly, just after he sat down, his phone rang. Without thinking, he opened the phone up and put it up to his ear.

"Well…its about damn time you answered your god damned phone!" It was Barret. Why was he calling? And why did he have to be so damn loud. "What the hell is goin' on in that head of yours Spikey?" There was a pause. "Are you even listening?"

"What do you want Barret?" Cloud asked in a slightly depressed tone.

"So you are listening." Barret said in a tone slightly softer than before. "Where the hell have you been?"

Cloud didn't answer. He had a hard enough time thinking about what Tifa would say to him. How could he explain it to Barret.

"Oh…so Spikey's gonna stay silent is he?" Barret said. He sighed. "Since you're not going to say anything, I've got something to tell you. _Oh god…why did I have to answer the phone?_ Cloud thought as he waited for Barret to continue.

"Something's happened." Cloud's eyes went wide at that statement. What could have happened? Was it bad or was it good? "Some people went to Seventh Heaven looking for you a couple days ago." He paused to see if Cloud would say something but when he heard silence, he decided to continue. "When Tifa didn't tell them anything, they got a little rough and she got hurt."

"What?" It was all Cloud could think to say. He didn't understand. He thought that if he left, that Tifa and the kids would be okay.

"Look Spikey…it's not…" Barret started but the line went dead. He had a feeling that maybe he got through to him. Tifa had tried for three weeks with no success. Maybe it was the news about Tifa getting hurt.

Cloud had a guilty feeling start to grow in the pit of his stomach as he got on his bike. How could this happen? How could Tifa get hurt? The whole point of leaving was to keep her, Marlene, and Denzel safe. He turned the key making the bike roar to life.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Tifa…do you think Cloud will ever come back?" Denzel asked as he got up on his bed.

Tifa's heart ached at the thought of never seeing Cloud again. She grabbed the blanket from the bottom of Denzel's bed. "I hope so Denzel."

Denzel layed down and Tifa pulled the blanket up over him. "He just needs some time Denzel…he'll come back eventually." She gave him a light kiss on the forehead and walked out of the room. Denzel had always told her not to bother reading him a bedtime story. It seemed that everytime she did and there was a mention of anyone that resembled a prince or hero of some sort, she would always get sad.

Once she walked out of the room, she headed downstairs. She did a quick double check to make sure that everything was locked and then headed for the room behind the bar.

Tifa had slept in the room behind the bar since she had been injured. She was hoping that when he decided it was right to come back back, he would go to his room first and maybe if she was there, she could stop him from leaving again.

It didn't take long after she layed down for her to fall asleep but she didn't sleep long before she heard a loud engine outside. Tifa quickly sat up. She knew that sound. It was Cloud's bike. She wanted to run to the door and greet him but she knew that it would scare him away. She smiled, layed back down, and closed her eyes.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

After Cloud got the door open, he quickly looked around. He found it odd that the door was locked. Usually the bar was open at this time. He closed and relocked it slipping the key into his pocket.

_I need to find Tifa…I need to see if she's okay._ Cloud thought as he made his way upstairs. He knew that if the place was locked up, odds were that she went to bed. When Cloud finally made it to Tifa's room, his stomach tied in knots. She wasn't there. Where would she be? He quickly walked down the hall to check the kids' room. She wasn't there either. Cloud took a deep breath to calm his nerves and headed back down the stairs.

Cloud was about to leave Seventh Heaven when he finally saw her. She wasn't in her room upstairs like he thought she would be. Instead, she was downstairs in the room behind the bar. He slowly and quietly walked into the room and sat down at the edge of the bed where she was sleeping.

_This is my fault._ Cloud thought as he noticed the bandage on her shoulder. Barret mentioned in his call that she had been hurt but he didn't say how. From the looks of it, she had been shot.

"How can I ever make up for this?" Cloud whispered as he gazed at her beautiful sleeping form. He knew whoever did this to her was after him. He turned away and looked down at the floor. He sighed. "I can't"

Tifa slowly opened her eyes. She knew that Cloud was there. She heard him pull in on his bike. She couldn't see how anyone couldn't hear it. It was good to see him again but he sounded different than usual.

Cloud slowly shook his head, making sure to keep his head down. "I don't want you getting hurt anymore because of me." He was about to get up off the bed when he felt a hand gripping his wrist.

Cloud froze. He thought that she was still sleeping. How was he going to explain to her why he was gone for almost a month? How was he going to explain to her why he was going to leave again?

"Don't leave." Tifa said in a soft voice. "Not again."

"I have to." Cloud answered.

"No you don't." Tifa said as she sat up. "Please…don't make everybody worry about you again."

"I told you." Cloud started in a sad tone. "I don't want you to worry about me. I can take care of myself." He paused for a second. "I don't need anyone's help."

Tifa sighed. "Who's gonna help here when trouble bursts through the door again?" She knew it sounded cold but it came out before she could think twice.

Her words cut deep. _So she does blame me._ Cloud thought. He could feel his eyes begin to tear up. _This is why I have to leave. I can't let you get hurt again because of me._

"Cloud?" She asked. Something was wrong. He was trembling. "What's wrong?" She leaned forward to see his face but he turned away. She put a hand on his shoulder. The moment her hand made contact with his shoulder, his body began to tremble more. "Cloud…look at me."

Cloud hesitated for a minute but when he finally turned to face her, what she saw broke her heart. She could see tears streaming down his face. She had no idea he was that upset and honestly didn't think she had ever seen him cry before.

She took her hand off his shoulder and reached up towards his face. She gently wiped a tear from his face with her thumb. "Cloud…what's wrong? Tell me something so I can help."

Cloud hesitated for a minute. "This…this is all my fault."

"What?" She had a feeling about the change she heard in his voice. He was blaming himself for something that was out of his control…again."

"You said…"

"Forget what I said." Tifa said. "I wasn't blaming you if that's what you think." He closed his eyes only to have more tears fall.

Tifa scooted herself back against the wall making sure not to let go of Cloud. If she let go, he would leave again. "Come here."

Cloud sat back on the bed as Tifa grabbed a pillow and put it on her lap. Cloud, who was still upset, layed down. "None of this is your fault." She said as she began to rub his shoulder to try and calm him down. "I would never blame you for this."

Cloud closed his eyes but this time, no more tears fell. He could actually feel his muscles start to relax and his nerves start to calm down.

Tifa reached up with his free hand and gently brushed a long strand of his blonde hair out of his face. If there was only one way to cheer him up, she would do whatever it took.

Cloud was surprised at how soothing her touch was as her hand brushed up against his forehead. He remembered her telling him that she loved him when she thought she was asleep. Was this what love was? Was this what love felt like? Soothing, warm, relaxed? He wished there was a way for him to tell Tifa how he felt about her but there wasn't. She was the only one who was always there no matter what. She was the one always trying to comfort him. She was the one who…

"So what made you come back?" Her question, even though she said it in a soft voice, caught him off guard.

"Barret told me what happened." Cloud started and then finished in a softer tone. "I had to see if you were alright."

Tifa smiled slightly. "Well, I'm fine."

"But, what about your arm?" Cloud asked in the same tone. "It looks like you got shot."

"The bullet just grazed the skin." Tifa explained. "It's nothing to worry about…really." She gently rubbed his shoulder. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you so you shouldn't either."

Cloud just nodded at what she said. He was so tired that he could feel his eyelids getting heavier by the second. Within a few minutes, sleep finally claimed him.

After sitting there watching Cloud sleep for a good half hour, she noticed that he still had his boots on. She sighed. "It can't be very comfortable wearing that while you're sleeping." She whispered. She reached over, untied his right boot, and slowly slid it off. Surprisingly, he didn't budge. It was different with the other foot though.

When Tifa reached to untie the laces on the other boot, he winced in his sleep. She knew that he was gone for three weeks but the odds of his ankle being completely healed were slim. When she finally got the boot untied, she grabbed the sole and gave it a quick tug. Cloud moaned in pain and reached for her hand to stop her.

_Dammit! I woke him up._ She thought as he lifted his head to look at her. "I'm sorry Cloud…your boot should come off while you are asleep." She gave the boot another quick tug and it came off making him tense up in pain.

After she pulled off his socks, she could see why it hurt so bad. His left ankle was swollen almost as bad as it was the day that he left. "How long have you been walking without your crutches?"

"I can't remember." He answered. It had to be a least a couple weeks. "A couple weeks I think."

"Where are your crutches?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"They're in the storage compartment of my bike." Cloud said in a tired voice before closing his eyes again. Not long after closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep again.

It was only a few minutes later when Tifa started drifting off to sleep. The steady breathing of Cloud was like a lullaby. Just when she closed her eyes, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Tifa's eyes shot open. Denzel was awake. It was probably the engine on Cloud's bike that woke him up. She knew that he would be happy to see Cloud but she wanted him to be quiet so Cloud could sleep.

Suddenly Denzel appeared in the doorway. "Tifa…"

"Shhh." Tifa instantly said making him stop what he was saying. "What are you doing awake?" He didn't answer. Instead, his eyes lit up the second he saw Cloud laying there. "Denzel…you're supposed to be sleeping."

"I heard an engine outside…I wanted to know what was going on." Denzel paused for a second. "When did he get here?"

"A few minutes ago." Tifa said. "You need to go back to bed."

"Okay." Denzel said with a smile. "Do you need anything before I go upstairs?"

Tifa sat there in thought for a second. "Nope…just go get some sleep. I'll make sure Cloud is here in the morning when you get up."

"Okay." Denzel said with a nod and went back up to his room.

It wasn't long after Denzel went back to bed when Tifa finally fell asleep.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there you have it. Just a note of interest…the whole thing about his ankle being swollen and sore still…I don't know if that would actually happen. I just figured that if someone had a broken ankle and they were walking on it when they weren't supposed to, that it wouldn't heal properly or maybe even take longer to heal. I would love to hear what you think and I welcome all reviews and constructive criticism. Please…no flames please. Oh…one more thing to add. Next chapter is going to be a bit longer._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.

_I am so, so, so sorry about it being so long since my last update. I know that when I responded to some of the reviews I said that it would be a couple weeks. It's been like four or five months. I don't wanna make excuses but I do have a couple. The first thing is…I started reading the Twilight series and I ended up reading the whole series in like two and a half months. Then I decided to write my own book. I've had chapter 6 of this story all hand written since I posted the last chapter. I just haven't typed it out until now. I hope nobody is too mad at me._

_Anyway…here is chapter 6. Its longer than the last chapter but I hope that its better. If any of the characters seem OOC, I apologize. Especially Zack. Yes…he is making a cameo in this story. Kinda like that thing in the movie when Cloud would see Aerith. Anyway…without further ado, her it is. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it._

**VII VII VII VII VII**

The first thing that Cloud saw when he opened his eyes the next morning was a pair of big brown eyes and pig tails. "Well…it's about time you got up sleepy head." She said with a smile on her face. This caught Cloud off guard because he thought everyone would be angry with him.

"Oh…Hi Marlene." Cloud said as he slowly sat up.

"Oh…Hi Marlene? Do I even get a good morning?" Marlene's smile turned into a frown. "After you've been gone for so long, I didn't think "good morning" was too much to ask."

Cloud sighed. Apparently Marlene was angry with him. He looked down for a second trying to figure out what to say. "I'm sorry." He said as he looked back up into her brown eyes. He knew that he had a lot of explaining to do…especially to the kids.

Marlene could see the sad expression on Cloud's face and without warning she leapt forward, flinging her arms around his neck. Cloud sat there for a second in shock.

Even after Marlene let go of Cloud, he was still shocked. "Are you okay Cloud?" She asked with a worried expression on her face.

"I just…I thought you were angry." He said as he lowered his gaze to the floor. "I didn't really wanna upset anyone."

"I'm not mad." Marlene said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "I just don't understand why you left again."

Cloud turned to face the little girl. "Listen Marlene…I didn't leave because I wanted to."

"If you didn't wanna leave…then why did you?" Marlene asked.

"Marlene, there are some people who are looking for me. I'm not sure why but that's the reason why I left." Cloud tried explaining. "I thought that if I left, then they would follow me instead of coming here."

"So you left to help us…right?" Marlene asked with an unsure expression on her face.

"Exactly." Cloud said.

"So why did you come back now?" Marlene asked with the same unsure and questioning look.

Cloud sighed. "I heard that Tifa got hurt and I had to see if she was okay."

Marlene's expression turned into a frown. "You're not gonna leave again…are you?"

Cloud shook his head. "No…I don't plan to."

"Will you promise me?" Marlene asked. Cloud froze. He didn't like making promises because there was always that chance that it could be broken. "Come on Cloud."

"Okay…I promise I won't leave again." Cloud said hoping that he wouldn't break the promise.

"Do you pinky swear?" Marlene asked in a serious tone. A soft giggle from the doorway made both of them look in that direction.

"Don't let me interrupt you." Tifa said with a smile on her face.

Before Cloud could even have time to think, Marlene had already turned back to him. "Come on Cloud…pinky swear."

Cloud looked back at Marlene with a confused look on his face. "I don't know…"

"Let me show you." She said as she grabbed his hand. "First you put all your fingers down except your pinky." She explained as she grabbed his pinky with one hand and pushed all her other fingers down with her other hand. "Then we lock out pinkies together like this." She took her pinky and hooked his pinky with it. Cloud looked down at their two hands not knowing what to think. She looked up at him with a smile. "See…that's how you pinky swear."

Cloud swallowed and looked into Marlene's eyes. "Okay…I pinky swear." Marlene quickly let go and lunged at him once again, giving him a big hug.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud sat there in complete silence as Tifa cooked breakfast. "So…did you stay at the church when you left?" Tifa asked making Cloud look up at her with sad eyes.

Cloud looked down at the table. "I didn't know where else to go."

Tifa turned back to her task of cooking breakfast. "You know…you could've just stayed here."

Cloud could feel tears start to well up again. "I know Tifa…I'm sorry."

Tifa could hear the change in his voice and turned around. She could see that he was fighting a losing battle against his emotions. She didn't want to see him cry again. She couldn't stand it when she saw him cry the night before. "Cloud…" He kept his gaze down on the table. She sighed and made her way over to the table where Cloud was sitting. "Cloud…what's wrong?"

Cloud looked at her for a brief second before looking away. "I just…I thought that you would be angry." He closed his eyes letting a tear fall.

Tifa sat down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey…I'm not angry." Cloud didn't respond at all. "Hey…" She said in a concerned voice as she knelt down in front of him. "Look at me." It took him a couple seconds but eventually he listened. "You're here now…that's all that counts."

"But I hurt everyone. I hurt you and Marlene and Denzel." He took a deep breath and looked away. "That wasn't what I wanted."

Tifa sighed. "Do you remember the note that you left me that night?" Cloud looked down at her. "You left because of what happened to me that night. They were looking for you and you left to prevent us from getting hurt."

"But you did get hurt." Cloud said.

"Cloud…I told you last night…I'm fine." Tifa explained. She knew from the look on his face that it didn't make him feel any better. There was a silence that hung in the air as Cloud got control over his emotions. When Tifa finally realized that he had calmed down, she got up and returned to her previous task, making breakfast.

"So, while you were gone, I know I called and you told me that Barret called…did you hear from anyone else?" Tifa asked as she scraped some eggs out of the frying pan.

Cloud looked up at her even though she was still turned away from him. "Yeah…Marlene called."

"Marlene?" Tifa said with a puzzled look on her face as she carried both his breakfast and her breakfast over to the table. "I wonder why she called." She set both plates down and sat down beside him.

"I don't really know." Cloud said. He looked down at his breakfast for a second, not really sure if he was hungry. He looked back up at her and finished. "She got into an argument with Denzel before she could really say anything."

The bar fell completely silent as Tifa started eating her breakfast.

"Tifa." Cloud's voice finally broke the silence.

"Hmmm." Tifa looked up at him from her breakfast.

"I uh…I was wondering if I could ask you about something." He said with a nervous look on his face.

"Yeah…sure." Tifa said. "What about?"

"It's ah…it's something that you said to me." Tifa's expression changed to confusion. Cloud looked down and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think I was supposed to hear it. My eyes were closed but I think you thought I was sleeping."

"Oh?" She questioned, not yet registering what he was talking about. Then, suddenly, her eyes went wide in shock. "Oh." She said in a quieter voice finally having it dawn on her what he was talking about.

_He knows…what am I supposed to do now? I thought that he was sleeping. I didn't expect that he would hear it._ She sat there in complete silence, not knowing exactly what to say.

Tifa sighed. "Wow…I didn't expect this." She honestly didn't know what to say. She loved him but she wasn't sure how he felt and she certainly didn't want things to get awkward between them.

"Is it true?" Cloud asked in a low voice as he looked up at her.

Tifa sighed and looked into his eyes. "Yeah." There was a silence between them for a few seconds.

"But why?" Cloud started. "Why me?" His tone was beginning to get sad again.

"Huh?" What was he talking about?

"I just don't understand." Cloud started. "You deserve a lot better than me…you deserve someone you can trust…someone who is dependable…you know, someone who doesn't run off when things get tough."

Tifa sighed. "Okay…first of all, I do trust you. I trust you with my life…I always have." She paused. "And you are dependable. You have always been there when anybody has needed you."

"But I left again." Cloud said looking down, almost in shame.

"Cloud…I told you already that I'm not upset." She said in a louder voice but then regretted it after. His body seemed to tense up. "Cloud look at me." She said in a softer tone. "I'll admit that I was a little upset when you left but I know you did it for a good reason." Cloud finally looked up to meet her gaze. "You left for a good reason…it just didn't work out the way you planned." She stood up.

"I know that but…" He was interrupted when her lips unexpectedly pressed against his. He froze, not knowing how to react.

A few seconds later, Tifa pulled away and saw a stunned Cloud sitting at the table. "It doesn't matter what you say…it won't change my mind." She grabbed her half empty breakfast plate, walked over to the bar and set it down and left the bar completely.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

After Tifa closed the door behind her, she sat down on the front step in front of the bar and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh God…what did I just do?" She whispered to herself.

"Tifa?" Denzel's voice snapped her out of it and she looked up to see a concerned expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…there's nothing wrong Denzel." Tifa explained as she looked into his blue eyes.

"But you seem upset." Denzel said, still with concern written all over his face. He turned his gaze to the ground. "Did Cloud leave again?"

"No." Tifa answered almost instantly after hearing Denzel's voice sound so sad. "He's right inside. I just…I think I may have made a mistake."

"Whatever you did…it can't be that bad." Denzel said, not knowing the whole story behind her current mood. "Whatever it was…I'm sure Cloud will forgive you."

"No Denzel." Tifa said, shaking her head. "It's not like that at all."

Denzel looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Denzel…it was a good thing." She explained in a soft voice. "I just think that it caught Cloud off guard a bit."

"Well…what did you do that you're so worried about?" Denzel asked.

Tifa's cheeks flushed bright red. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Denzel. "Look Denzel…I really don't wanna talk about it this right now."

"Did you kiss him?" Denzel asked completely out of the blue making Tifa's eyes go wide in shock.

"Denzel…how did you know that? Were you watching?" Tifa asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"No…I wasn't watching." Denzel answered with a look on his face that told Tifa he was telling the truth.

"Well…if you weren't watching…then how did you know?" Tifa said with a hint of panic in her voice. Honestly…how could he have known if he wasn't.

Denzel covered his mouth with both hands and his eyes widened. "Oh my god! You _did_ kiss him." Denzel turned and stood on his tip toes to look in the window of the bar's front door. "Uh…Tifa…is Cloud okay?"

Tifa turned her head and looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well…he isn't moving. He isn't moving at all." Denzel explained.

A smile slowly grew on Tifa's face. She knew that something as small as a kiss would leave an impression. And the fact that he wasn't moving at all meant that it made him think. The real question was if he was upset about it at all.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud didn't really know what to think. Tifa kissed him. He almost couldn't believe that it even happened. He didn't even know for sure if Tifa actually had feelings for him. He had a feeling she did but wasn't positive. What he had never told her in the past is that he had feelings for her too. Ever since he could remember, Tifa had meant the world to him. He loved her. He always did.

A giggle from the staircase pulled Cloud out of his thoughts making him quickly turn his gaze towards the stairgase. "Marlene…is that you?"

There was another giggle as Marlene popped her head out from around the corner.

"Marlene…what are you doing? ...how long were you standing there." How was he going to explain what happened between him and Tifa to her? He knew that Marlene knew full well what a kiss was but things between him and Tifa were much more complicated than a princess and prince charming that she heard about from her story books. "Marlene." Cloud repeated.

Marlene's smile disappeared as she slowly made her way down the stairs towards Cloud. He could tell from the frown on her face that she thought that she was in trouble.

"Did you hear our entire conversation?" Cloud asked Marlene as she sat down opposite him at the table. A smile slowly crept back onto her face. "Did you hear the whole thing?"

Marlene nodded and the smile on her face grew even bigger. "Did you see anything?"

"Uh huh." Marlene said with a nod. "Tifa kissed you."

Cloud froze. "Y…you saw that?"

"Yup!" Marlene quickly answered with a smile still on her face. "So…did you like it?"

"Marlene!" Cloud said. He really didn't want to delve into his emotions with a little girl.

"What?" Marlene said. "It's obvious that she loves you. She has for a long time." She paused. "Do you love her?"

Oh great. Now she was putting him on the spot. The truth was, he did love her but finding the words to tell her had always been hard.

After seeing Cloud's features soften a little, Marlene gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. "You do love her."

Cloud sighed. "Listen Marlene…it's complicated, okay." Marlene's expression changed from happiness to confusion. "Look…just don't tell her." Marlene nodded. Cloud held his pinky out, remembering what she had taught him earlier that morning. "You pinky swear?"

Marlene giggled and locked pinkies with him. "I pinky swear."

"Cloud…are you gonna tell her that you love her?" Marlene asked curiously.

"I guess I should." Cloud said.

"You should give her flowers before you tell her." Marlene said. "I can help."

"No…it's okay Marlene." Cloud said. "You don't have to worry about that." Before Marlene could say anything, the door flung open.

"Marlene…I'm going shopping…you wanna come?" Tifa asked. Marlene nodded happily. "Well, go get changed out of your pajamas. I'll be waiting." She nodded again and ran off up the stairs toward her room. "Cloud?"

"Hmmm." Cloud said as he looked over at her.

"You okay?" Tifa asked in a soft voice.

He gave her a quick smirk. "Yeah…I'm fine."

"Okay." She said. "I shouldn't be gone shopping too long." Cloud just nodded.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Tifa…Tifa…Can you hold this for me?" Marlene asked, running over to Tifa with a beautiful red rose in her hand.

"Marlene…I can't be buying all kinds of extra stuff." Tifa said.

"Tifa…I have my own money. I saved my allowance." Marlene said. "I want to decorate mine and Denzel's room some. It has too much boy stuff in it."

Tifa sighed. "Okay…Are you ready to go?" Marlene nodded happily and they went to go pay for everything.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Cloud." A voice from the doorway made Cloud turn around.

"Oh…hi Marlene." He said. "What is it?"

"I've got something for you." Marlene said. She pulled the rose that she bought out from behind her back.

"A rose." Cloud said in a confused tone. "Why?"

Marlene sighed. "So you can tell Tifa how you feel."

Cloud limped over to the bed and sat down. "Marlene…I'm not sure I'm ready." Cloud sighed. "It's complicated."

"Why is it complicated?" Marlene asked as she walked into the room further. "I don't understand."

"I don't really know how to tell her?" Cloud said.

Marlene walked over to the bed and set the rose down beside him. "I think you'll figure it out." Without another word, she walked out of the room.

"How did she get so clever?" Cloud whispered to himself as he picked up the rose and looked at it. _I need to tell her_. Cloud thought. He sat there for a few seconds. He really needed to think things through before actually telling her how he felt.

Cloud grabbed his keys off the bedside table and limped out of the room towards the door.

"Hey." Tifa's voice stopped him just as he got to the door. He froze. "Where are you going?" Her voice almost sounded hurt. "You're not leaving again…are you?" Cloud remained silent. "Cloud…"

"I'm coming back." Cloud interrupted. He turned to face Tifa. "I just…I need time to think."

"Oh." Tifa said. "Do you know what time you'll be back?"

"I'm not sure." Cloud answered.

"Okay…well…if you need anything, just call." Cloud nodded, turned around, and walked out the door.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud sighed. "What am I gonna do now?" He asked himself as he sat down in front of the buster sword that was still lodged in the ground.

"Just tell her how you feel." A familiar voice made Cloud look up. Everything around him turned white just like it had when he spoke to Aerith during the geostigma incident. "Over here." A hand waved in front of his face making him turn to see someone he didn't expected to see.

"Zack…what are you doing here?" Cloud asked, still a little surprised.

"I'm here to make sure you make the right decision." Zack said. "You know what needs to be done…you gotta make sure it happens because if you don't, you're gonna regret it the rest of your life."

"I don't know how to tell her." Cloud explained.

"Dude…you know how she feels about you. What's there to lose?" Zack said with a smirk on his face.

"But…"

"Just do it. You won't regret it." With those final words, Zack disappeared and the scenery of his location came back into view.

Cloud felt a little sad to see his friend disappear. He liked seeing and talking to him again just like he did Aerith but like the time he spoke to Aerith, Zack disappeared quickly.

Zack was right though. He had to tell her and he had to do it soon. Otherwise, the thought of what the future might hold would eat away at him.

Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His stomach tied in a nervous knot as he opened the phone and dialed the number to 7th Heaven. The phone rang about five times before it was answered.

"Hello." Cloud let out a sigh of relief when he heard Marlene's voice.

"Marlene." Cloud answered.

"Where did you go? You promised you wouldn't leave again." Marlene said in a hurt tone.

"Marlene…I'm not. I just needed time to think…I'm coming back." Cloud answered quickly. "Look…I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Marlene asked.

"I need you to give a message to Tifa." He paused. "I need you to tell her to meet me somewhere."

"Where do you want her to meet you?" Marlene asked curiously.

"I want her to meet me by the buster sword. She'll know what I'm talking about." Cloud paused for a second to think. "Do you think you and Densel will be okay for a while or should…"

"It's okay…Papa's here. He can stay with us while she's gone." Marlene explained. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"I'll have to thank him next time I see him." Cloud said.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Marlene…who is that on the phone?" Tifa asked as she walked inside with Barret and Vincent close behind.

Marlene's eyes went wide and she hung up the phone quickly. "Tifa." She paused. "I have a message for you."

"Why didn't you just hand me the phone instead of hanging it up?" Tifa asked.

"Because it's _really_ important." Tifa gave her a confused look. "Cloud wants you to meet him…I think he said at the…buster sword." She had a questioning tone at the end of her sentence. Marlene shrugged. "He said you'd know what it meant."

"Why does he want to meet me?" Tifa asked

Marlene's face broke into a grin. "I can't tell you…it's a secret. I pinky swore I wouldn't tell."

"Oh…don't tell me she taught him that." Barret said with a frown on his face. Tifa nodded. "She taught me that and now I have to pinky swear to everything."

"So are you gonna go?" Marlene asked excitedly.

"Umm…" Tifa looked at Barret.

"Go ahead. I'll stay here till you get back." Barret reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his keys. "Here." He tossed the keys onto the bar. "Take my truck…it'll be quicker and safer than walking."

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah…sure." Barret said. "Besides…I have an idea what it's about by the look on Marlene's face and Vincent said he needs to discuss something with Cloud anyway."

"Okay." Tifa said as she grabbed the keys and walked out the door.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

"Cloud?" Tifa said as she slowly walked up to him. He was sitting on the ground, leaning his back up against the buster sword that he had previously driven into the ground.

Cloud looked up at Tifa and gave her a small smirk. "Hey." He paused for a second and then continued. "Can you sit down for a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure." Tifa answered as she sat down beside him. "What's up?"

"Look Tifa…" He sighed. He wasn't quite sure how to tell her what he wanted to tell her. It wasn't as easy as Zack made it out to be. It was more complicated than just about anything he had ever done.

"Is this about what happened this morning?" Tifa asked in an unsure tone.

Cloud looked down at the ground and shook his head. "No…it's not that. I just…" he sighed again. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"Cloud…" Tifa started but was interrupted by Cloud.

"Tifa…I've always loved you." He said in a soft tone as he looked over at her. Her eyes went wide. Odds were that she had no idea. "Ever since we were kids."

"How come you never told me?" She asked

"Probably the same reason you never did." Cloud said in almost a whisper. "I just…I'm not like other people. I've never really…been in a relationship. I don't really know how they work."

"You think I do?" Tifa said. "All I know is how I feel."

"But…I don't wanna screw things up." Cloud said. "I don't wanna make things worse. I don't wanna mess up our friendship."

"You won't." Tifa said as she leaned against his arm. "I won't let you."

Cloud looked at her and took a deep breath. He could feel his nervousness fading away. "Oh…I have something for you." Cloud said as he held up the rose in front of her.

Tifa smiled and took the rose from his hand. "I knew she was up to something…sneaky little girl."

"Yeah…the rose was all her idea." Cloud said. "She laid it down on the bed and told me that I'd figure things out…she's way too clever for her age."

Tifa giggled and nodded. "No doubt about that." There was a long pause between them as they looked at the setting sun. Tifa glanced over at him. He seemed relaxed and for the first time…content. "It's beautiful…thank you." She smiled and gently kissed him on the cheek.

Cloud smiled slightly as she leaned on him more and rested her head on his shoulder. A long period of silence passed by between them but it was eventually broken.

"Tifa…" Cloud said in a soft tone.

"Hmmm…" She replied, sounding quite tired.

"Do you think things will ever be normal?" Tifa quickly sat up straight, caught off guard by his question.

"Cloud…what do you mean?" Tifa asked as she was met by his big blue eyes.

"Well…" He paused, trying to figure out just how to continue. "Most people start a relationship with a date…you know…dinner and a movie. We spent the majority of our time together chasing after a lunatic hell bent on destroying the planet."

Tifa smiled at his statement. It did seem strange that most relationships started out nicely and theirs started out…well…started the way that it did.

"Do you think we'll be happy together?" Cloud asked, making Tifa's expression instantly change.

"Of course I do." Tifa said with a worried look on her face. "Don't you?"

"I…I hope so." Cloud said. "I just don't want to hurt you if I make a mistake."

"Cloud…I don't expect you to be perfect." Tifa said. "Don't worry about it right now."

They sat there in peaceful silence until Tifa looked up at the night sky and sighed. Cloud looked at her. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"What…the stars?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah…I mean…how long has it been since you've been able to just look at them?" Tifa said as she glanced at him.

"I don't know." Cloud said as he looked up at the stars. "I see them sometimes when I'm making deliveries but I don't really get the chance to sit and look at them."

Tifa returned her gaze to the stars. "They're so beautiful." Tifa said with a smile on her face. They both sat there for a few moments in complete silence until Cloud decided to break the silence.

"Maybe you should be getting back…I bet Barret's climbing the walls by now." Cloud said making Tifa turn her head to face him.

Tifa chuckled a little bit. "Barret will be fine for a while. Besides…he had Vincent there to keep him company until I bring the truck back. I wanna stay and look at the stars for a little while longer anyway." Tifa said as she lied down on the ground so she could gaze at the stars better. "Care to join me?" She asked as she looked up at Cloud.

Cloud glanced down at Tifa and smirked. How could he not love such an amazing woman? She meant everything to him and now that she knew how he truly felt, things started to get better. Things weren't so awkward and now they had a reason to spend so much time together.

Cloud took a deep breath, relaxed breath and laid down beside her. Things couldn't get much better than this. Tifa smiled and cuddled up against him. He was wrong. Things just got better. He was lying on the ground with the woman of his dreams cuddled up against him.

Cloud closed his eyes and relished the feeling of her body up against his. He had never felt so happy in his entire life. This was it. This was what love felt like.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there is chapter 6. I really hope you like it and I look forward to hearing what you think._

_I hope people liked the Zack cameo appearance. I wasn't sure of it but then decided to leave it. I also wasn't sure about the "Dude" crack coming from Zack. I've played Crisis Core but I'm not exactly sure if he'd say that. Either way…I decided to keep that too._

_Thanks for reading and again…I'm very sorry for the looooooong wait between updates. I can't guarantee when my next update will be. I'll try not to wait as long but like I said…I can't guarantee when it will be._

_Thanks for being patient._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.

_I give my readers my sincerest apologies for waiting so long to write and post this. I believe it's been either a year or over a year since my last update. I've done a lot of things in that time. I did work on an original story for a while and then I just kind of stopped writing altogether. I don't know if it's been writer's block that's kept me from writing or if it's just been my pre-occupied mind but I finally decided to work on my fanfiction once again._

_I was going to post a spoiler alert but by now, if you've read everything I've written so far, you've already seen it. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers so far for reading and reviewing and being so patient with me. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!_

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Tifa awoke the next morning to the warm sun shining on her bare arms. "So you're finally awake." Tifa turned her head to see the most wonderful sight. She smiled when his bright blue eyes caught hers.

Tifa nodded and nuzzled closer to him. "Did you sleep good?" She asked in a soft voice.

"I haven't slept that good in a long time." He answered before taking a deep, relaxing breath. It was the most relaxed and calm he had ever felt in his entire life. Who would've thought teling Tifa how he really felt would make both of them feel so good? He certainly didn't.

"Hey Cloud, what time is it?" Tifa asked in a relaxed voice. "Barret said that he would watch Marlene and Denzel until I got back and Vincent is there because he needs to talk to you about something."

Cloud didn't have a watch so he looked up at the sky to see where the sun was. It was almost directly above them. "I'm not sure what time it is but I think it might be close to noon."

Tifa shot upright in an instant. "Oh crap!" She paused for a second and looked at Cloud. "Barret and Vincent are probably going crazy right now. We should get back before Marlene and Denzel get to them too much."

Cloud sat up and looked at Tifa with a blank expression on his face. He wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He had a hard enough time talking to Marlene. How would he explain everything to Barret? Tifa could see the expression on his face. "Cloud?"

Cloud scratched the back of his head for a second. "I ah…I…" Cloud sighed and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"I just…" He sighed and looked down at the ground. "What am I going to say to everybody? I had a hard enough time trying to explain myself to Marlene."

"Cloud, everything will be fine. I promise." Tifa said, giving him her best reassuring smile.

"Do you really think everything is going to be fine?" Cloud asked as he looked into her eyes. "I mean, I kind of made a big mess of things."

Tifa stood up and brushed herself off. "Cloud, I don't think that everything is going to be fine. I know it will. Come on, let's go." She grabbed Cloud's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Actually, why don't you go on ahead of me? I'll catch up later." Cloud said, still with uncertainty in his voice.

Tifa looked at him with an unsure expression on her face. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Cloud answered. "I'll be back at 7th Heaven later. I promise." Tifa gave him one last smile before walking to Barret's truck.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Tifa could feel her stomach tie in knots as she cut the power to the truck's engine. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if Barret was angry with her. He had every right to be.

"Where the hell have you been girl?" She could hear Barret's voice booming before she even got the truck door closed.

Tifa took a deep breath, shut the truck door, and turned to face Barret. "Look, I can explain why I was gone for so long."

"Good." Barret said before walking over to the truck and leaning up against it. "I've been waiting since last night to find out how everything went.

Tifa stood there speechless for a minute. She wasn't sure what to say to that. She thought that he would be upset. "Wait. What?"

Barret smirked. "Well, did he tell you how he felt already or did he just stay quiet again?"

Tifa smiled as her cheeks flushed red. Before she could say anything, Barret spoke again. "I'll take that as a yes." He paused for a second and then continued. "So where is Spiky anyway?"

"He said he would catch up later." Tifa answered. "I think he might be worried about you being upset with him about leaving. I told him everything would be fine but I'm not sure he really thinks so."

"Well I'm not sure why he left in the first place but I'm glad he finally came to his senses and came home." Barret said.

Both Barret and Tifa started walking to the door just in time for Marlene to come bursting through the front door of 7th Heaven. She ran and jumped up into Tifa's arms.

"Tifa, what happened?" She asked. "What did you and Cloud talk about?"

Tifa put Marlene down and knelt down in front of her. Marlene had a hopeful look in her eyes and it made Tifa happy thinking that she wasn't going to be disappointing her. She held a rose up between them. It was the rose that Marlene gave to Cloud to give to her. She smiled at Marlene and kissed her on the cheek. "Why don't we go inside so I can tell you about it?"

Marlene smiled and ran back into 7th Heaven. Tifa gave a quick smirk to Barret and walked off toward the front door of 7th Heaven.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

Cloud stood there for a few minutes after Tifa left and just admired the scenery. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. It was like the universe finally decided to give him a break and let him be happy for once. He took a deep breath but a noise from behind him made him jump and turn around quickly. As if reacting out of pure instinct, he grabbed the only weapon that was close to him, the buster sword that was still lodged in the ground, pulled it out and held it up, ready to fight.

The first thing Cloud saw was a Shinra Guard issued rifle pointed in his direction.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" Cloud asked in a half angry, half annoyed tone. So much for the universe giving him a break.

The rifle suddenly lowered. "Cloud?" It was a woman. A woman that Cloud hadn't seen since he was in the Shinra Guard. "Oh my god! I thought it was you. I've been looking for you."

"Rayne?" Cloud said as he lowered the buster sword. "Why have you been looking for me? What do you want?"

"It's not what I want." Rayne said. She had a sad expression on her face. "It's what my boss wants." Cloud stood there waiting for further explanation. "He thinks that he can rebuild the Shinra Guard and he's trying to recruit everyone that was and still is loyal to Shinra and…"

"And what?" Cloud prompted. He wanted to know exactly what was going on.

Rayne took a deep breath and contined directly where she left off. "And he's killing off everyone who deserted the Shinra Guard.

Cloud stood there in shock. Why would anyone try to rebuild the Shinra Guard? More importantly, did that mean that someone was trying to rebuild Shinra? Rufus Shinra was alive and he wasn't trying to. If he was, Reno probably would've opened his big mouth about it by now.

"I tried to tell him that you didn't desert the Shinra Guard but he didn't want to hear it." Rayne continued. "Hell, I didn't even know that you were still alive until he mentioned you. Since then, I've been looking for you so I could warn you. I also wanted to give you this." She held up the rifle by the barrel to show him and then leaned against his bike. "I can see that you use a sword now but I hear that my boss is an expert marksman so a sword may not be the best option."

"Okay, what do you mean you hear that your boss is an expert marksman? You don't know for sure?" Cloud asked, a little confused by all the information she was feeding him.

"I've never seen him in person." Rayne explained. "He gives all of his orders over the phone."

"Why do you work for him then?" Cloud asked. It seemed like the most obvious question to ask. Why would anyone work for someone who they have never even seen before?

"I'm working for him so I can find out who they're going after and warn them ahead of time so they won't get hurt." She explained.

They both stood there in silence for a few minutes before Cloud spoke up. "What happens to you when your boss finds out what you're doing?"

"He can't find out." Rayne said, her voice suddenly extremely serious. "If he finds out, he'll kill me." She paused for a second and looked down at her watch. "Listen, I'm sorry I jumped you and then threw all this information in your face but I just thought you should know." Before Cloud could say anything in response, Rayne was gone.

Cloud drove the buster sword back into the ground where he pulled it out of and limped over to his bike. He picked up the Shinra Guard issued rifle and looked it over thoroughly. His name was carved into the butt of the rifle. It was his. How did Rayne find it and more importantly, did it still work as well as it did when it was in his possession before?

Cloud got on his bike, opened the storage compartment and put the rifle in it next to his rarely used crutches. He closed the storage compartment and started his bike. He had to get back to 7th Heaven. Tifa, Barret, and Vincent needed to know what was going on.

Cloud took one last look at the scenery and roared off toward 7th Heaven.

**VII VII VII VII VII**

_So there is chapter 7. I know it's one of the shortest chapters of this story but I really needed to update it and I felt like it was a good way to end the chapter. Again, thanks to all the readers and reviewers so far and sorry again for the extremely long wait for this update. I hope you all like it._


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